Top 10 Bollywood Movies of 2011

2011 saw a lot of good bollywood movies. While some won critical acclaim, movies panned by the critics managed to collect huge box office collections. No doubt though, bollywood saw some of its finest work grace the 70mm screen this year. Many filmmakers tried to use the tested formula and succeeded to an extent. Below is a compilation of the 10 best bollywood movies of the year, as the year draws to a close.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

The film directed by Zoya Akhtar under the banner of Excel Entertainment, the film focuses on the lives of 3 friends who discover their identity while embarking on a bachelor trip. The dialogues and screenplay of this film are written intelligently. Some of the shayari’s narrated in the film, fall nothing short of touching your soul. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have done a wonderful job with songs such as Dil Dhadakne do and Khwaabon ke Parindey, while the ever reliable Javed Akhtar has penned the lyrics beautifully. No wonder then, that the film was a huge success at the box office and became the tenth highest grossing bollywood film of all time. The film had a multi star cast of Katrina Kaif, Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan and Abhay Deol.

Ra.One

A film belonging to a science fiction Genre, the film already had a lot of hype generated about it before its release. The film had Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in prominent roles. Cameo performances were given by Rajnikanth, Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra. The movie follows the story of a game designer who becomes a superhero to defend his son from the villain. The film directed by Anubhav SInha, had a diwali release and made an immediate box office impact. The film was even released in 2D as well as a 3D format worldwide, also dubbed in two other languages apart from Hindi.

Yamla Pagla Deewana

The film was touted to be a reunion of the Deol family after their first successfull venture in the form of Apne. The film had Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and the younger brother Bobby deol as the lead characters. The film is a typical masala bollywood film, full of entertainment and witty punches. It also showcases the great penchant Dharmendra has for comedy. Apart from the sincere acting, songs and dialogues of this film also played a part in its success.

Ready

The film directed by Anees Bazmee, had the superstar Salman Khan along with Asin in lead role. The movie also boasted of a star cast comprising of seasoned comic actors in the form of Paresh Rawal, Sharat Saxena, Manoj Joshi and Akhilendra Mishra. The fun element of the film is enhanced by the presence of the amazing stand-up comedian Sudesh Lehri and the young comedian Mohit Baghel. The film as expected became a huge hit at the box office and became the 3rd highest grossing film in bollywood of all time.

Bodyguard

Again a Salman Khan starrer, the film did not have a great storyline and got a mixed response from the critics. Yet the film received the highest opening day box office collection and went on to become the second highest bollywood grossing film of all time. The movie yet again established the identity of Salman Khan, as an unprecedented star of the year 2011. The film has Kareena Kapoor as Salman Khan’s love interest in the film and the supporting cast comprises of Raj Babbar and Hazel Keech.

Singham

The movie is considered to be one of the ‘smashing’ movies of bollywood in its literal meaning. The movie was packed with action. Ajay Devgn went on to gain a lean physique in this movie, to showcase the character of Baajirao Singham. The story is based on the struggle of a Cop Singham, played by Ajay Devgn who tries to bring down the might of Jaikant Shikre, the villain played by Prakash Raj. The movie reminded the audience of the era of 80’s where such films graced the silver screen. Directed by Rohit Shetty, it was a huge hit at the box office.

No one Killed Jessica

The film is a political thriller, focussing on the murder of Jessica Lall which occurred back in 1999 by the son of an influential politician. The film focuses on how the sister of Jessica, Sabrina fought to get justice. Vidya Balan is seen in the role of Sabrina, while Rani Mukherjee is seen as a TV reporter. The film was universally accepted by the critics and received great reviews for its hard hitting theme.

Don 2: The King is back

Though the film was released at the end part of December, it still garnered enough collections to make it a box office hit in its first week. It is the first sequel in the career of Shah Rukh Khan, who had a successful 2011 year. The film is a pacy thriller, set in Berlin where the Don (Shah rukh Khan) continues his legacy in the underworld from where he had left, from part one. The film also had a video game released, a promotional strategy similar to Ra.One, another SRK movie. Apart from King Khan as the main protagonist villain, the movie has Priyanka Chopra as the female lead.

The Dirty Picture

Released at the end of the year, the film is rumoured to be on the life of bold actress of the south Silk Smitha. It emerged a major a box office success. Many critics gave the film an overwhelming welcome and described it as a well narrated movie. The film has shades of turbulent personal lives of famous actresses and how it ruins their career. The movie has Vidya Balan in the role of Silk while Emraan Hashmi plays the director. Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor also essay important roles. Directed by Milan Luthria, the producers are Balaji Motion Pictures.

Delhi Belly

The film managed to raise a lot of eyebrows with its adult language, but still grossed successfully at the box office. The Bhaag DK Bose in particular did not go down well with a section of the audience, as they found it offensive. The film is a comic caper about 3 friends, who manage to win a lot of money while encountering a lot of funny situations in the meantime. Directed by the well known Ad film maker, Abhinay Deo it got a lot of appreciation for its dialogues written by Akshat Verma. The film has Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunal Kapoor and Shenaz Treasurywala in lead roles.

Though quality of the movies in 2011 may not be as good as that of its predecessors in yesteryears, the gross accumulated by this year’s movies is certainly higher. The technical aspect also improved, as many films were released in a 3D format in addition to the normal 2D format. Many films had a very low budget and a sincere story, did moderately well at the Box office. Some of the films which couldn’t make our list, still did a lot of business in the year 2011. We can only hope that the coming year will be an even better one for our industry!